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Chapter 163 - TFF

Old Greyheart was staring at the bundle of herbs on the table with suspicion.

“You say you’ve eaten those, boy?” he asked and nudged them with a finger. Alan wasn’t sure what this was about. They were just herbs. He had given some to Wilbis, but they would probably not be meeting for a while, if ever.

Which was a pity. The gnome had been very helpful and willing to accept Alan despite the strangeness of the situation. Plus, supplying a Realm filled with different worlds an...

Chapter 43 - The Manor, SC

The Empty Manor was located a few hours out of the city. Vyn had proposed hiring a cart or just horses, but Sunday had no patience for frivolous spending and no desire to learn horseriding for such a short distance

The coins he had were reserved for drinks and shelter, with the occasional necessary purchase such as the dark blue coat he had gotten on the way. It was light, made to last against rain, and, by Sunday’s request, the tailor had added a bunch of pockets and straps on the in...

Chapter 42 - Toothache, SC

The whole experience left Sunday in a good mood. He thought himself a fairly good judge of character and this Zihei fellow looked like somebody who could scratch a back if the need arose. Sunday was getting an idea of how things worked and he wasn’t particularly worried about getting his hands dirty. In fact, he found himself quite excited at the prospect. Using spells was addicting.

The man had mentioned being an Initiate. Sunday hadn’t sensed the slightest sign of his essence, nor...

Chapter 162 - TFF

It only took a few moments, but it almost felt like the System was struggling. A preposterous notion – however, he had seen someone mess with it before.

This was much different. It was not someone messing with the System, rather he felt knowledge flow into him. It was not his, nor did he understand it, he just knew it was suddenly there as if blown by random winds.

It was still terrifying to an extent, although it felt good too. Who knew having access to a Legacy – so...

Chapter 41 - Arcanum, SC

A couple hours later a sleepy Vyn led Sunday through the city while munching happily on baked goods. The streets were just as fascinating as the first time Sunday had seen them – it was morning and the town was brimming with the sounds of life and the smell of baked goods. For the first time, Sunday felt some regret that food was not something he could enjoy. That didn’t stop him from trying once.

He surprised an older lady by purchasing a few golden brown bread balls that were full...

Chapter 40 - Drinks and Talks, SC

Back in the Wayward Rat, on one of those tables people picked when doing shady stuff or in a particularly broody mood, sat four people with drinks in hand. One looked comfortable, in his element, almost as if sitting on such tables was his job and he had been doing it for a lifetime. The other three, however, were looking around and shifting, as if hot coal were lit beneath their seats. It could’ve simply been because of the establishment itself and its reputation, or the piercing gaze of t...

Chapter 161 - TFF

Alan’s initial excitement quickly turned into untold agony as feelings not belonging to him crashed against his psyche and made him scream. Maybe it was not him screaming, but an echo of what he had touched upon. Was it a physical act or the mind tearing itself apart trying to hold on to a sense of identity?

Was a shred of a will, a remnant of someone long gone, raging against being violated by the skill? Who would want their most intimate feelings and moments being seen through by a...

Chapter 39 - Night Stroll, SC

Practice felt better this time around although not by much. Jishu’s scribblings were hard to understand, and while Sunday was sure he had made some progress, his lack of focus was a wall difficult to climb in a moment or two.

He was nothing if not stubborn though. However, as it was with any practice rest was important. The Black Breath was exhausting as his mind struggled to keep up with all the components he had to pay attention to. Sleeping didn’t seem to be an opti...

Chapter 38 - Small Joys, SC

Sunday listened to her words. The smell of the drink alone was enough to make his muscles release some of the tension of undeath. His mind slowed down, and whatever thoughts survived the wonderful aroma became clearer.

“It smells of… honey, and green tea, and citrus. Very spicy too,” Sunday said. His nose was working overtime, but the bouquet of smells was too much for him to separate and categorize properly.

“Take a good sip now,” Riya urged, and waited with her glass r...

Chapter 37 - Wayward Rat, SC

Sunday took some time to properly look around as their cart reached the line and became part of the slow column trickling into the city.

The walls were massive but worn down and broken in places. Gaping holes could be seen along their length and there was even a wreckage of what once was a lookout tower on one of the corners. Some of the scars on the stone were strange, and it was difficult to imagine what was responsible for them. The stone was blackened or melted or even poked full of...

Chapter 160 - TFF

NOTE: Do you guys enjoy the deep dive into the skill? I'm quite uncertain tbh.

Congratulations! Your skill has advanced.

Last Glimpse (Rare) has become Remembrance (Epic)

Remembrance (Epic)

See the flashes from the life of the dead, see their struggles, and see their joy. Witness their final moments in the end, for death comes for all. Beware to not lose yourself.

 ...

Chapter 36 - Bandits, SC

“Vynny boy. You up,” the old man yelled.

The music was gone and the rhythmic movement of the cart stopped. Sunday was unsure whether he had drifted away in a dreamless sleep or just zoned out. It had felt nice.

“Damn bandits,” Vyn looked disappointed and reluctantly sheathed the flute. “Simple times are fleeting, eh? Come, let me show you why bandits dream nightmares about me.”

Sunday could only blame his big mouth. But at least for a while, he had listened, and ...

Chapter 159 - TFF

A man with a crazy smile. A scream. A sharp blade piercing something that was not flesh. It tore at the old man through whose eyes Alan was watching it all happen. Then there was only blackness.

Alan opened his eyes with a start and pulled away. That had been much less information than he’d expected.

“Well?” Isind asked.

“Well, what?” Alan snapped. What was he supposed to do? This was the sixth corpse he was using [Last Glimpse] on. It was not getting easier. Rathe...

Chapter 35 - New Meetings, SC

The horses swerved to the side in time and dodged Sunday’s struggling form. They passed a hair away from him while kicking up dust under the various colorful curses of whoever was holding their reins.

Sunday himself was fuming as he rolled barely dodging a cart’s wheel. He scrambled up making sure his bag was on him. His bullshit talent had once again decided to screw him up. Where was he now? Whose mess did he need to clean up? Was it so hard to let him follow his plan for once? 2024-05-05 12:43:10 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 158 - TFF

“I think improving [Last Glimpse] sounds interesting. I should be able to handle others in time. It is the strangest of my skills by far and one I was going to sell but decided to learn by pure chance,” Alan finally said.

It made sense to him to improve what he understood least. [Last Glimpse] offered him a vision of someone’s death and the idea of building up on that was … both disturbing and strangely attractive. What would such a skill lead to? How much could he learn about p...

Chapter 34 - Out of the Swamp, SC

The more they advanced the more sketchy the explanation of how Hark had this knowledge seemed in Sunday’s mind.

A ranun who spoke the common tongue and knew a way out of the swamp had visited the village and shared the knowledge. Sunday was the first to admit he didn’t know a thing about the toad people. Maybe they did have the anatomy to speak like everyone else did. Arten hadn’t objected to the story and he was the linguistic expert.

However, how did one tell someone the w...

Chapter 33 - Departure, SC

Sunday eventually gave up. Part of the writings were downright jibberish, and even words he couldn’t understand were thrown in there. Perhaps some old dialect Jishu was fond of using or a language pack Sunday wasn’t given.

It was all about circulating the ‘breath’, which gathered the essence of the world and made it his. Put that way it was simple, but so far all he had managed was to do what he had been doing all this time and take in essence into his already full soul space. 2024-05-04 10:54:14 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 157 - TFF

The inside of the otherwise unimpressive building was like an old-school gym, only made with magic and by someone who didn’t value their things.

Not that Alan had seen the insides of a gym other than in movies, but the place just gave that sense. As if thousands of men and women had shed blood and sweat to become a better version of themselves here.

There were many strange implements strewn everywhere, some large enough to block the rest of the room from sight. Still, the space ...

Chapter 32 - Wake up, SC

The silence was deafening.

Arten coughed in discomfort and looked around, but no one met his eyes. Sunday felt something was wrong. His palms were growing itchy again, which was a bad sign. For someone.

“There’s no map,” Arten said.

Sunday stared at him, then grinned. “I see. You might be confused. You’ve been through a lot.” He nodded sagely and with compassion. “You need a rest. Surely, I didn’t do all that for nothing.”

Arten sighed in defeat and s...

Chapter 31 - Healing Water, SC

In the end, Arten took it upon himself to tie up every single one of the gathered, including the crying little boy. The chief was still alive, despite the hit that should’ve broken his neck. It was only right for the undead to be tough. At least some of them.

Sunday watched over Pearl as Arten scoured the village for more braziers. The frozen people were slowly starting to move as the green vapor dissipated, but their wounds remained unhealed, and their bodies seemed much weaker.

Chapter 30 - Beauty, SC

The community hall was just a larger barn-like building made the same way as the huts. It was near the small shed where Sunday had fallen coming to this world. It was not built on supports rising above the water like most of the huts, but the earth around it was dry as can be – a testament to Arten’s hard work.

There was also another makeshift brazier near it and Arten once again used his spell on the herbs and stopped the fire.

The doors of the building were closed, but not b...

Chapter 29 - Green Village, SC

Crossing the river was a glorious affair. Fatty seemed eager and happy to transport Sunday and even threw an expectant gaze toward Arten, who, after some mocking from Sunday finally bit the bullet and stepped onto the massive alligator’s back.

Sunday tried to remain standing, striking a majestic pose as he rode the monstrous lizard to the other shore. However, it lasted only for a brief moment before he lost his balance and Arten had to pull him down to the scaly back. At the very lea...

Chapter 28 - A Doctor's Slap, SC

The walk back was done in silence. Sunday felt strange, yet quite happy with his new spell. He couldn’t wait to summon the golden page and check out the name. Names were important, even if the information they gave was vague.

He felt the spell would be pretty straight forward though. Maybe good for a quick takedown if he was fighting more than one opponent. It was much faster than the moths, which had proven to work much better with the element of surprise on their side.

Plus, t...

Chapter 27 - Another Spell, SC

Sunday didn’t fully trust in Old Rud’s many lessons. He was smart enough to know things were not black and white, and that personal experiences skewed the man’s view of the world. It was one thing to know, and another not to allow himself to become the same.

Memories of the old bastard came often since Sunday had been reborn. Was a part of him using the memories as an anchor, afraid that he would lose himself to the life in undeath he had been granted?

The alligator made a f...

Chapter 26 - Good Deeds, SC

Chief Hark sat sullenly in his hut. There was no sign of Arten, nor the undead man that had fallen from the sky. This could be both good and bad, but something was gnawing beneath his long-dead flesh. He hadn’t felt much anxiety after he had been touched by the gift of undeath. Even in the face of betrayal, he had been calm.

There were too many unknowns. The villagers were growing restless. Human food was running low but no one dared to leave the village after the events of the past w...

Chapter 25 - Going Back, SC

Sunday didn’t linger much longer after healing himself. Learning the true Black Breath was a large undertaking and he was in no rush to face the second hound. Not before finding out what was going on.

Waking Arten and removing the ropes and rusty chains binding him proved to be a slow task. The human in his delirious state was much less than helpful.

Arten eventually opened his eyes while he was being rolled and thrown around like a sack of uncooperative potatoes and lazily look...

Chapter 24 - Loot, SC

Note: One more, then I'll do some writing before bed 'cause I'm very behind. How would you guys feel if I actually took time to write short passages from the books found along the way and post them as interludes or just... notes? I think it's a cool addon to the worldbuilding for whoever enjoys that. Just an idea if I find the time.

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‘If the day comes you gotta end a nasty bastard, children, make sure you do it proper’. And such a day is likely to come living ...